Sudden pH drop

arvind

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My skimmer started overflowing all of a sudden today and I noticed this could be because of the new auto feeder put little too much food. The pH is taking a nose dive..I turned off the skimmer and it is probably adding insult to the injiury. What should I do now to stop pH from dropping and bring it back up?

See attached image.
SmartSelect_20200925-121307_Chrome.jpg
 

HuduVudu

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You biological filter is consuming your Alk. Check Alk immediately and adjust accordingly.

Also turn your skimmer back on. You need it get out the crap so it doesn't go through the biological filter.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I don't think there is any emergency here. It won't keep going down (if it even did decline).

Check to be sure the probe did not come out of the water if the water level dropped.

Turn the skimmer back on and adjust it to not overflow.
 

Privateye

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It is totally normal for a tank to consume more alkalinity when the biofilter is more active. They use carbonate in the nitrification process. Check your alkalinity and boost it if needed.

You might want to try wiping the pH probe too in case it has some biofilm on it, producing CO2.

Keep the skimmer going though. Maybe not that wet, but you want it to pull nitrogenous waste out.
 

Brew12

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I'm sure @Randy Holmes-Farley can verify this. My understanding is that the biofilter can consume alkalinity, but it doesn't happen very quickly. To cause a pH drop like what this appears to be would take a very rapid alkalinity change and would be beyond what a sudden change in nutrients could cause.

If it is real, I'm guessing it is CO2 related and I agree with getting the skimmer back online, even if you aren't using it to collect skimmate. Then you can work on getting it adjusted and collecting again.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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It is totally normal for a tank to consume more alkalinity when the biofilter is more active. They use carbonate in the nitrification process. Check your alkalinity and boost it if needed.

You might want to try wiping the pH probe too in case it has some biofilm on it, producing CO2.

Keep the skimmer going though. Maybe not that wet, but you want it to pull nitrogenous waste out.

That is only true if nitrate is accumulating. Nitrification consumes alkalinity

If nitrate is steady, there is zero effect on alkalinity because the consumption of nitrate by organisms returns exactly the alkalintiy lost in nitrification.

If nitrate is declining, then alkalinity will actually rise by that process.
 

SteveMM62Reef

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Did you have a lot of family over close windows, due to cooler temperatures. The CO2 could have spiked in your house. BTW it can take days to go back to normal CO2. This is what I did, for the high CO2, the Air goes into my Skimmer. This is very crude, and I plan on using a bigger air pump. Also put a bleed off valve, to keep from Spiking the pH at first
9E984B94-9813-4A4A-BC37-FC1EEA025FCB.png
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9E984B94-9813-4A4A-BC37-FC1EEA025FCB.png
91AEAD67-BF6F-43F2-BB6F-1880CD4B72ED.jpeg BB761A77-7826-474F-8E40-8F154151CF97.jpeg
 
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arvind

arvind

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Alk seems normal KH director shows 7.4 and Hanna at 7.17. Skimmer overflows while at fully closed. Don't think a CO2 problem because nothing changed in my household.

Anything else I can check? Can excess food cause a pH drop?
 

Mical

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When your skimmer overflowed did your ATO kick in to replace water displaced by skimmer?
 

Brew12

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Alk seems normal KH director shows 7.4 and Hanna at 7.17. Skimmer overflows while at fully closed. Don't think a CO2 problem because nothing changed in my household.

Anything else I can check? Can excess food cause a pH drop?
pH in a reef tank only has 2 significant factors. CO2 and alkalinity. If alk hasn't changed the drop in pH has to be due to an increase in CO2.
Did you recently close up windows?
 

Mical

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pH in a reef tank only has 2 significant factors. CO2 and alkalinity. If alk hasn't changed the drop in pH has to be due to an increase in CO2.
Did you recently close up windows?

1 other factor: if tank water is highly diluted w/RODI water from ATO.
 

vetteguy53081

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Sounds like a co2 issue and ph probe calibration warranted
I would not classify this as an emergency as it is more of a situation whereas fish or coral are dropping like flies
 

Brew12

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1 other factor: if tank water is highly diluted w/RODI water from ATO.
If this were the case, the lower pH would be due to a lower alkalinity from the dilution.
 
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arvind

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Sounds like a co2 issue and ph probe calibration warranted
I would not classify this as an emergency as it is more of a situation whereas fish or coral are dropping like flies
Got it. Since the pH was dropping so rapidly was was worried that I am fast approaching such a situation.
 
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arvind

arvind

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pH in a reef tank only has 2 significant factors. CO2 and alkalinity. If alk hasn't changed the drop in pH has to be due to an increase in CO2.
Did you recently close up windows?
Nope. Nothing changed. Windows in the room we never open them.
 

Brew12

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Nope. Nothing changed. Windows in the room we never open them.
Hmm... I like @vetteguy53081 's idea of cleaning and calibrating the probe.

Otherwise, have you had more company over lately? Could you have removed algae or something else that may have been removing CO2?
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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1 other factor: if tank water is highly diluted w/RODI water from ATO.

What does that mean?

His tank is in serious trouble if the water gets highly diluted (low salinity). pH is the least of the worries.

That said, adding pH 7.0 totally pure water to seawater at pH 8.2 will actually raise the pH above 8.2, not lower it. A funny quirk of chemistry. :)
 
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arvind

arvind

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Hmm... I like @vetteguy53081 's idea of cleaning and calibrating the probe.

Otherwise, have you had more company over lately? Could you have removed algae or something else that may have been removing CO2?
Holy cow, YES! I took out half of Cheto this morning! Is that it? I have done that many times before!!
 

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